This morning things have changed and the weather on Lake Mead is even more ominous than when we left yesterday. The clouds were building on the horizon, but it wasn't too much to worry about.

Here is a shot out over Lake Mead from Callville Bay shot yesterday afternnoon:

Fast forward to today ( Tuesday day 2 of the U.S. OPEN) and here is a shot taken this morning:

The weather service has been predicting the possibility of scattered heavy rain, and possible lighting storms, so it's going to be a challenge today for the anglers. Yesterday the boats and anglers took a typical Lake Mead U.S. OPEN pounding much of the day, especially those who chose to make longer runs to find fish.

The weigh-in is done at the top of the launch ramp in a tent that was constructed to replace one that recently was lost in a recent storm with high winds. The tent allows us to better control the temperature that the fish get exposed to, and it provides comfort to the staff, fans and anglers who are just coming off the lake and have been in the sun all day.

Be sure to watch the live webcast of the 2012 U.S. OPEN weigh-in today and tomorrow at www.wonbass.com from 2:00pm - 4:30pm and watch the legends and your favorite bass anglers weigh-in their fish. There will also be a wrap=up show this eveings. Check wonbass.com for the schedule.

PRESS RELEASESeptember, 10 2012

For Immediate Release

Derek Yamamoto Grabs Day One Lead at WON Bass Nitro Boats / Mercury U.S. Open

Las Vegas, Nev. - September 10, 2012 - As the 256 anglers of the 30th Anniversary WON Bass Nitro Boats / Mercury U.S. Open launched into the canyon walls surrounding Lake Mead, it was obvious that the predicted calm conditions had given way to typical Lake Mead weather. While the atmospheric prognosticators had alluded to calm breezes and lowered temperatures, they proved to be less than 100% accurate.

Known for having the potential of becoming a wind tunnel with heavy wave action, Lake Mead spent much of the morning hours baring its teeth at the anglers venturing out onto her waters. While the previous weeks had been calm and warm, today she added wind to the equation.

But, when you put some of the best bass anglers in the business to task at finding winning quality bass, it doesn't matter what the conditions are; someone will find a way to fill the livewells.

Such was the case as the 30th Anniversary WON Bass Nitro Boats / Mercury U.S. Open of Bass Fishing commenced.

When the smoke cleared on day one of the WON Bass Nitro Boats / Mercury U.S. Open of Bass Fishing, that angler was Derek Yamamoto of nearby Boulder City, Nev. Yamamoto and his AAA partner Robert Schneider placed 13.26 pounds on the scales to take the day one lead.

Yamamoto said he was please with his day, but had one fish that he would have liked to cull out. "It's nice to come out and have a good day and be in this position," he said. "I had that one little pound and a half fish that I would have liked to get rid of; but, I'll take it."

Yamamoto said that he spent his entire day focused on covering water. "That's the name of the game here, cover water with reaction baits," he said. "I saw some fish in areas that I didn't get to bite that could give me another 13 pounds tomorrow and try to stay where I'm at."

Hot on Yamamoto's heels is Salt Lake City, Utah's Roy Hawk with 13.15 pounds. Hawk, and his AAA partner Ken Whalen, used techniques in the middle part of the lake that helped them appeal to a larger quality fish. "I'm not really a guy to sit around on a point and worm, so I did things that fit my style," he said. "I really looked for energy zones where baitfish and some sort of predator fish were present, and being around that activity gave me confidence that there were bass there."

Hawk said that he will make a few adjustments tomorrow in an effort to produce more weight. "I kind of made a few decisions today that I need to fix," he said. "I could do a better job of choosing when to fish certain areas, and I believe if I make those changes, I will improve tomorrow."

Pros following Yamamoto and Hawk in the top five are third place Mike Caruso and fourth place Verne Ridgeway with 12.87 pounds and fifth place Dick Watson with 11.99 pounds.

AAA's rounding out the top five are third place Jason Billmaier (12.87 pounds), Jim McLaughlin (12.87 pounds) and fifth place Shawn Cooke (11.99 pounds).

Yamamoto and Schneider each earned a WON Bass bonus of $2000 for their day one big bag in the WON Bass Big Bag Bonus Option pool.

Day two of The WON Bass Nitro Boats / Mercury U.S. Open takeoff will occur at Callville Bay Marina on beginning at 5:45AM, with daily weigh-ins starting at 2:00PM. Following the event's conclusion on Wednesday, a champion will be crowned at Boulder Station Casino the final evening of the event.

The WON Bass Nitro Boats / Mercury Marine U.S. Open presented by Costa Sunglasses Webcast daily event coverage will commence following tournament take off with hourly updates at 7:00AM, 8:00AM, 9:00AM and 10:00AM each day, followed by weigh-in coverage beginning at 2:00PM and finally a 7:30PM post game show; all show times are Pacific Standard Time.

The recent winds at Callville Bay destroyed the permanent tent outside the offices at the top of the ramp where we prefer to do our weigh-in. But we were able to rent a tent and we also use an very elaborate tank system under the tent to keep the bass healthy, so we can return as many as possible alive to the lake.

The big limits are actually running larger this year than in recent years. Usually at the US OPEN 10-lbs. will put you right at or near the top, but this year we already have two, 13-lb limits, two 12-lb bags, and a bunch of elevens, with still a lot of boats to go.The full results will be on on www.wonbass.com by about 6PM PDT, and there will be a direct link to it from here too.

A few more big bags of fish have come to the scales since our last update. Mike Curuso came in with 12.87 lbs just a bit ago. Kyle Grover had 9-something and said he missed a really big one that would hva eput him well into the 10-lb range. Vern Ridgeway came in with a nice 12.87-lbs and then Derek Yamamoto came in with 13.26-lbs to take the U.S. OPEN lead.

2:40 PM Monday - Today at the live weigh-in and live webcast ( on wonbass.com) the fishing from Lake Mead has been tough for some and very good for others. Some of the notable catches so far in heat one and early into heat 2 are Roy Hawk with a bag weighing 13.15 lbs, Clifford Pirch with 10.93. Ron Sanford with 11.76, Billy Skinner 10.76 lbs.. Some other notables that are a little back are Shaun Bailey with 7.51 and Byron Velvivk with 5.21 lbs. The weather right now is 98 degrees with wind, and it's muggy with clouds and possible storms expected the next few days.

Las Vegas - we talked to Mike Folkestad, one of the two 3-time U.S. Open champions, ND HE said that pre-fishing was very good, but it was mostly small fish, 10-12 inchers, with an occasional 2 pound bass mixed in. It's just as likely that Mike is on them good, and dis trying to lay low, but we'll know better tomorrow afternood when the fish are brought to the scales.

Dean Rojas said there were lots of small fish to be caught, but he’s going after those bigger ones. Again, he didn't say if he was getting them, but he did follow up that fishing report by saying "I want to win!"

John Murray, another 2-time winner of the Open, said fishing was okay. "We’re catching a few."

The red, white and blue Nitro Z-8 was parked outside the Boulder Statiom in Las Vegas and drew a lot of attention from U.S. OPEN participants and the general public.

Rich Tauber, the 1982 U. S. Open champion, said today at the sponsors get together that pre-fishing was very good for most of the anglers practicing and he thinks the first day on Monday will produce limits for about half of the field. But it’s the third day that’s always the toughest. You’ll need a limit all three days to finish high in the standings.

Sunday morning - The 30th U.S. Open Bass Tournament is about to begin with many of the past winners on hand to compete on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on Lake Mead.The event officially kicks off today (Sunday) at tournament headquarters, Boulder Station in Las Vegas, with major sponsors of the WON BASS Nitro/Mercury U.S. Open on hand to present samples and show off their products to the 256 anglers entered in the contest.

Big plans are in store for the 30th anniversary edition of the U.S. OPEN which starts this coming Monday. There are 256 of the best bass anglers in the world signed up to fish this years event at Lake Mead, which is always the host lake for the U.S. OPEN of bass fishing. There will also be much expanded coverage including a live webcast of the weigh-in and nightly updates from Lake Mead, and as always we will keep you up to date with blogs, and daily updates of the standings. Wonbass.com will be the main hub of all this information, so be sure to keep checking in to see the coverage and results.

Quite a few anglers have been out at the Lake Mead prefishing this last week. WON BASS writer, tournament angler and television personalty Tami Curtis was among those anglers getting ready for the tournament, and she sent in some pictuers she took at Calville Bay launch ramp this last week. As you can see in the photos these guys make some real investments in their boats and equipment, and it's going to be quite a site come Monday morning to see 128 such boats with 256 anglers waiting to go at it for the U.S. OPEN title.